He believed it would cripple the Confederacy more effectively and force the South to surrender more quickly.
This was Sherman's March to the Sea and it was lead by Major General William Tecumseh Sherman.
General William Tecumseh Sherman marched through Georgia during the Civil War with 60,000 Union troops. This campaign, known as Sherman's March to the Sea, took place from November to December 1864. The goal was to demoralize the Confederate troops and destroy their ability to wage war by targeting infrastructure and civilian resources.
Major General William T. Sherman's march from Atlanta to Savannah in 1864 is referred to as the so-called "March to the Sea". It is an error to term the battle tactics of Sherman as one of total war or total destruction. Sherman destroyed crops and livestock that were potential supplies of the Confederate army. Total warfare is the term used to describe WW 2. There, civilian cities were targets for destruction. All the major powers in WW 2 resorted to total destruction as a means to demoralize the enemy and also to kill potential soldiers. Of course, the destruction also targeted factories and farmlands.
He destroyed everything his army marched through. The South lost transportation lines, homes, civilians, and a lot of destroyed property. It left the Confederacy in ruins
Sherman's March
This was Sherman's March to the Sea and it was lead by Major General William Tecumseh Sherman.
sherman
General William Tecumseh Sherman marched through Georgia during the Civil War with 60,000 Union troops. This campaign, known as Sherman's March to the Sea, took place from November to December 1864. The goal was to demoralize the Confederate troops and destroy their ability to wage war by targeting infrastructure and civilian resources.
Georgia
Major General William T. Sherman's march from Atlanta to Savannah in 1864 is referred to as the so-called "March to the Sea". It is an error to term the battle tactics of Sherman as one of total war or total destruction. Sherman destroyed crops and livestock that were potential supplies of the Confederate army. Total warfare is the term used to describe WW 2. There, civilian cities were targets for destruction. All the major powers in WW 2 resorted to total destruction as a means to demoralize the enemy and also to kill potential soldiers. Of course, the destruction also targeted factories and farmlands.
He destroyed everything his army marched through. The South lost transportation lines, homes, civilians, and a lot of destroyed property. It left the Confederacy in ruins
Sherman's March
People now use the words 'Total War' to describe the actions of Sherman in Georgia and Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley - attacking the civilian infrastructure that supported the enemy in the field. At the time, they may not have used that phrase.
Much has been written about the total war operations of Union General William T. Sherman. Whether it was in excess or justified, is a fair debate. What is often overlooked however, is the military operations between Northern and Southern forces after Sherman burned Atlanta. Some will be surprised concerning military casualties, which were extremely light. Even at the largest of the battles, the one at Bentonville in early 1865, combined casualties for each side were under 5,000.As Sherman marched through Georgia after Atlanta, he carried all of his needed supplies with him, or foraged them as his troops marched. Sherman progressed through Georgia, meeting only light opposition. At Savannah, he drew supplies from the US fleet. Of course, Sherman left a trail of twisted railroads and burning buildings. Whenever a band of Southern militia men made a stand, Sherman's 60,000 veteran troops simply brushed them aside, with scarcely a battle. In stark contrast, his superior general, US Grant, faced fierce resistance from the Army of Northern Virginia.
Sherman marched through the south bringing total war. He burned everything and the city of Atlanta. After the war he was assigned the task of doing total war on the plains by killing as many buffalo he could. He took to his task with relish and did kill the majority of the herds of buffalo and this wiped out the major supply of food the the plains tribes.
Atlanta, Georgia
Sherman through the south. He was Union.